That is the charming verse
kindergarteners in a Hamas classroom chanted last week
during their graduation ceremony. The girls dressed in
butterfly costumes. The boys donned camouflage, black
masks, green bandanas and toy semi-automatic rifles. The
video aired by the Middle East Media Research
Institute (www.memritv.org)
features the children wielding swords and guns while
mimicking paramilitary exercises.

And how are we preparing the
children of the West to
defend themselves against these little soldiers of
Allah?

"The handmade tree, crafted
by 17 children during pre-school class time, was a
statement against American troops remaining in Iraq, and
a call to pursue peaceful paths to end all world
conflicts. This gift, however, seemed more like a Trojan
horse, designed to gain an invitation inside so that the
children`s far-left leaning parents could rail against
the war and the congressman`s initial vote in support of
it."

The children`s teacher,
Valerie Coleman-Palansky,[send her
mail] defended the stunt thusly: "I think it`s
appropriate for 3-year-olds to know that the world
needs to be a peaceful place for everybody to live in
and a safe place for everybody to live in."

Perhaps it`s time for Ms.
Coleman-Palansky to acquaint herself with the
Palestinian Mickey Mouse. The chant of the little
jihadists drowns out the Disneyfied reverie:

"What is your most lofty
aspiration? Death for the sake of Allah!"

Scene 2: I have a pet peeve.
It goes beyond the antiwar indoctrination
rampant in American schools. At the playground and
at the mall, I see 5-, 6- and 7-year-olds walking around
with pacifiers in their mouths. Kids old enough to feed
and dress themselves. Kids old enough to figure out the
remote control and cell phone. Standing upright,
suckling on brightly colored binkies.

Where are the parents to yank
the rubber from their mouths and force them to grow up?
When did child pacification usurp the responsibility of
child-rearing?

Scene 3: America is not alone
in immersing its future generations in the culture of
coddling. British educators have now determined that
"asking pupils to put their hands up when they think
they know the answer to a question in class could make
quiet children fall behind," according to the London
Telegraph. [A
show of hands `can harm shy children`, July 2,
2007]To spare students from this awful terror, the
British Department of Education is now recommending that
children be given 30 seconds of "thinking time" before
being asked to answer or told to discuss questions in
pairs before answering. Instead of teaching students to
conquer their shyness and stand up for themselves,
educators will be encouraged to pamper them in emotional
bubble wrap.

On a separate front, British
schools will be administering "happiness tests" to
children as young as 4 to ensure high self-esteem. The
Telegraph reports that the government has spent 20
million pounds on an "emotional literacy initiative"
that promotes activities such as "worry boxes,"
where pupils write down their anxieties and post them
into a box, and "emotional barometers," which
pupils can use to show classmates the strength of their
feeling about a subject.

I return to the video of the
Hamas kindergarten class. Their "emotional
barometers" break through the roof as one toddler
with plenty of self-esteem leads the rest in a
bloodthirsty call and refrain:

"What is your path? Jihad!"

"What is your path? Jihad!"

Back in London, the tots are
taking their mental health quizzes. Teacher asks: "How
do you feel?" The sheeple answer: "I`ve been feeling
optimistic about the future."

Pardon me while I go fill my
worry box. It`s a small world, after all.